Lady of Erna
by Icy Fae Tears
Summary: A spin off of the Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman. Starting at the creation of Erna's first true demon or human and going through her trials. Please rate me!
1. Summons

Chapter one  
  
  
  
Karril felt something calling him back to his place of creation, the ragged slopes of Mt.   
  
Shaitan. For the better part of the day it kept nagging at the back of his mind as he strode amongst his   
  
throng of oblivious worshipers. This, his main temple, was situated outside of Jaggonath's city limits   
  
and confining laws, here the pagan god of pleasure could be worshiped freely. As he lets his gaze fall   
  
on a couple running away, hands clasped, seeking a private spot his thoughts stray to what he really is.   
  
Karil is an Iezu, a powerful demon with the ability to create illusions so complete that whoever the   
  
illusion is placed on can be made to ignore even the most extreme pain. Even as he contemplated these   
  
things whatever was calling him grew stronger snapping him out of his revery, knowing that he can no   
  
longer ignore the summons his physical body dissolves and he allows the currents of earth fae to carry   
  
him to the volcano's fiery slope.   
  
  
  
~~~~Mt. Shaitan~~~~  
  
Upon arrival Karil quickly reforms his body. "Welcome Karril. You have not come to this place since   
  
the day Gerald Tarrant destroyed Calesta." Karril dropped into a deep formal bow then spoke to the   
  
silver form which was floating serenely above the lava in the center of this great volcano. "I am sorry   
  
mother of all iezu. What is it that you have called me for?" The figure extends a pale thin hand and   
  
gestures to a black form laying on the ground not far from Karril. He turns and looks to where the   
  
Mother points and gasps, on the ground lies a woman with pale skin, waves of dark auburn hair and   
  
massive black angelic wings that spring from her shoulders and at the moment cover her bare form.   
  
"What is this woman? How did she get here?" he asked amazed. The Mother replied in a wispy voice   
  
laced with pain, love, and power, "She is your newest sister, the first Iezu to be born with a physical   
  
form. She is born of Gerald Tarrant's humanity." 


	2. Sister

Chapter two  
  
"How can this be?", he gasped. As Karril stares at the woman lying on the ground the   
  
Mother swoops down and touches the her forehead with one wispy silver hand causing the girl to open  
  
her piercing, dark emerald eyes. She spoke to the girl as she awoke, "You my daughter, the only one of  
  
your kind, are my finest work. You are the first that Erna will truly embrace, the first human or demon  
  
to be born with the planets blessing and to be brought under its protection." The girl's eyes never leave   
  
the mother's face as she soaks in every word that is said. "I have brought you into being, using myself   
  
and the humanity of a powerful man. I have made you as he would have preferred you as well. You are   
  
dark, beautiful, and seemingly frail but you my daughter are not frail, for you are an adept just as he was.   
  
The fae is yours to see and command, even the dark fae whose power is untouched by any save he. I   
  
have also given you many of the memories I detected in him... What he knew you know, use this gift   
  
wisely.", she finished. The girl nods her head solemnly as the Mother then turns to address Karril, "She   
  
may be a child to our eyes but she is not to anyone else, remember that. With Tarrant's memories and   
  
the body I have given her most will think her to be in her early 20's, and human as well when she hides   
  
her wings. I want you to take her to Jaggonath and get her a horse, clothes, armor, and a weapon.",   
  
Karril bows formally to her and says, "Yes my Mother, I will do whatever you require. But what have   
  
you named this child?" The mother smiles and gently strokes the girls hair, "I have named her Phoenix   
  
for she is the one who brings light to the darkest regions." Phoenix stands and walks to Karril's side, her   
  
massive ebony wings wrapped around her slim still bare body. Karril reaches out and places a hand on   
  
her shoulder as they both disappear into the earth fae's currents heading back to his temple. When they   
  
are gone the Mother smiles sadly and whispers, "Good luck to you my daughter, you have a life of   
  
challenge before you...." 


	3. Setting Out

Chapter Three  
  
  
  
Back in Karril's temple in their bodies materialize once more. Karril claped his hands and one   
  
of his priestesses rushed forward and bowed low before him. "What is it that you require, sir?", she   
  
said. He gestured to Phoenix standing beside him, still clad in not but her wings, "Bring this girl   
  
something suitable to wear and a cloak as well.", the priestess bows once more and hurries off to do his   
  
bidding. Phoenix stands where she appeared looking straight before her, her gaze piercing threw the   
  
walls, seeing them for the illusions they are, after a moment she turns to Karril and speaks, her words   
  
cool and her voice itself wrapped with fae, "You have a fair number of worshipers here.... I see that the   
  
new found faith in the One Church has not diminished your following too drastically." Karril blinked,   
  
"How is it that you know about the One Church?" "I can work a simple knowing as well as you can,   
  
and you forget that what he knew I know....," she cut off as the priestess returned with the requested   
  
articles then left hurriedly. Phoenix looked at each in turn then doned them quickly, making her wings   
  
disappear so that the shirt would fit properly. She once again turned her dark gaze to her brother, "All   
  
that i now require is currency so i can buy a decent weapon.", she smiles darkly for a moment and   
  
continuesm, "I believe I aquired his skill with a blade as well.... Or at least his preferance for them."   
  
Karril nodded and walked to another room, returning in a moment with a pouch filled with gold. "This   
  
should last you for as long as you desire it to. I have done as asked the rest is up to you," She took the   
  
bag and secured it to her belt while turning and heading towards the door, just before she reached it she   
  
turned back and looked at him mischiviously, "Don't worry about me brother... Its the priest you   
  
should worry about." Karril looked at her suspisciously, "What do you mean?" She simply smiled,   
  
turned and headed outside while calling over her shoulder, "I'm just going to see what Damien Vryce's   
  
reaction will be when he meets the female incarnation of Gerald Tarrant...." 


	4. Meeting

Rubbing his eyes Damien Vryce remembered the boy, the one who alluded to Tarrant still being alive. Even though Damien knew that if he even once spoke his thoughts about that boy being Gerald Tarrant, the deal he must have made with the one god would be destroyed, killing him instantly. For all of Tarrant's dark past and the many deaths he had caused, Damien missed having him as a companion. The Hunter had proven to be a useful member of whatever party he was in and despite his black deal with the UnNamed ones still managed to let his humanity be noticed once in a while. Sighing Damien rose from his seat, scattered his payment on the table and headed out into the dark streets of Jaggonath. He still was having a hard time sleeping at night, his many months with the Hunter, who could not be in the light, had greatly affected his sleep patterns. For a large man he was agile and always ready to defend himself but he was completely caught off guard when the tall woman stepped in his path.  
  
"Hello Damien Vryce. I see the night still holds you in its spell," came a sultry voice from the shadowed face. Vryce jumped back a little and flexed his hand, ready to draw his sword if needed. The woman laughed and turned so that the light of Casca fell upon her pale features, "You both know and do not know who I am Reverend. I am both the one whom you so recently were thinking about and someone else all together. You may call me Phoenix, for that is the name the Mother has given me." His hand fell useless to his side as she spoke," You are Izeu?" With a smile she replied, "I am only half. Half of me is human, come from the humanity of the darkest man to walk the planet... I am Gerald Tarrant's humanity. Gasping Damien could do nothing but stare. As her watched her it began to make sense. She was pale and dark all at the same time, delicate beauty, frail yet strong... Everything Gerald hunted and maybe even more. 


	5. Memory of Remorse

Just thought I'd point out since I didn't do it before that I don't own any of the characters except  
  
Phoenix. She is mine! MUAHAHAHAHAHA  
  
Phoenix smiled at him then looked up at the sky, "A few moments of True Night are about to begin..."   
  
Damien gasped, reaching forward he grabbed her arm and started to pull her towards the nearest  
  
building, "We have to get off the street then. Or at least off the ground." Turning her dark gaze to him,  
  
he could see the dark fae that swirled with in her eyes, "We have no reason to flee before the pitiful  
  
fears of man. I like the Hunter have a core darker than these constructs of the fae, they will not come  
  
near." She turned and began walking towards the Street of Gods, "I suggest you come with me  
  
Damien Vryce. Besides I expect you would like to question my brother so that you know I tell the  
  
truth." Swallowing Damien followed and after a few minutes of walking he asked, "You mean Karril  
  
don't you? He is your brother?" She kept her eyes in front of them so he watched her profile as she  
  
spoke, "Yes Karril is my brother. Just as Callesta would have been and just as Saris is my sister.   
  
Karril is the only one of my kind to know of my existence, he brought me here to Jaggonath."  
  
Since the moment she walked out the temple gates, Karril had done nothing but pace. He thought  
  
highly of Damien Vryce and did not want to see his little sister harm him in any way. He paused in his  
  
pacing at the entrance to the temple just in time to see Phoenix and Damien walk through the gate.   
  
Karril sighed heavily and headed down the steps to greet them, "I trust that you are well Reverend  
  
Vryce?" Damien nodded but replied sadly, "Karril you know that I am no longer a priest of the One  
  
God... I resigned when we went to Mt. Shaitan." Phoenix stood quietly as they spoke, but when  
  
Vryce mentioned his resignation she was hit by Tarrant's memory of that discovery. Gerald Tarrant  
  
had genuinely felt sorry for Damien when he learn about it, he knew how much it cost him to give up his  
  
calling. Because she had such a distant look upon her face both men turned to look at her, after a  
  
moment she spoke, "Damien Vryce... The NeoCount was truly saddened by your loss." With that  
  
said she step around them and walked inside the temple. 


	6. Illusion of the Past

Because Phoenix had gone inside before them, Karril and Damien were only mildly surprised to  
  
find that the interior was completely different from what it was before. When she entered she used her  
  
powers for the first time, changing the image before her from a temple to a dark castle study. From her  
  
vantage point in the large desk chair she watched her brother and the priest examine her work. Both  
  
men found faint smiles tugging at their lips. Her tastes were so similar to the one whose humanity she  
  
embodied that they couldn't help but smile. Karril cast his Izeu sight around them and was impressed  
  
at the quality of her illusion, "Is this truly your first? It is so well done..." She smiled at him smugly, "It  
  
is the first illusion I have created. The next will be even better."  
  
For the next hour Phoenix stayed in the same seat contemplating what her next illusion should  
  
be and once that was decided, preparing it. In that same time Damien and Karril, sat and discussed her  
  
arrival and what they felt needed to be done now that she was here. They both jumped when they  
  
heard Phoenix exclaim, "Yes! Its perfect!" In response to their stares she smiled darkly and motioned  
  
for them to turn around. Scrambling and falling chairs, quickly commenced as both men fought to get  
  
farther away from him. Phoenix rose from her seat and crossed to the figure, after circling it she stood  
  
at his side smiling darkly. Damien's eyes could not open any farther, his surprise could not be any more  
  
complete. Standing there beside Phoenix was Gerald Tarrant, or at least the image she created of him.   
  
Karril simply stood there, mouth gaping. He couldn't even begin to understand how one so young  
  
could complete such an illusion. Let alone do so when she had never seen the man before. Waving a  
  
hand through the illusion Tarrant's body she destroyed her work, "I took the image from your minds." 


	7. Currents and Purpose

Both men suddered at her words. It wasn't that they feared the young Izeu, it was the fact

that neither of them felt her in their minds. Normally when someone works a knowing on you

there are little signs or feelings that accompany it, but with what ever she had just done there was

nothing, an that was frightening.

As her dark smile began to fade she returned to the large chair behind the desk, folding her

hands across the desk top she swung her emerald eyes to Karril and looked at him

questioningly, "I know you have questions, brother. Why do you not just ask?" Karril was a little

taken aback by the power of her gaze, "Do you know what your purpose is? Why did the

mother create you?" Phoenix stood and began to pace her illusion room, "As far as I know, I

was only made to be the one this planet would accept. The rahk of the demon and human

worlds. Just as the rahk are the native species of Erna so am I. She may have a plan in mind but

I do not know what it is. When has she ever shared everything with her children? As of right

now I would like to venture into town and meet someone." Damien looked at her confused, "But

you don't know anyone else, who would you go meet?" She turned cold eyes to Damien, eyes

that reminded him of the Hunter, "I do not know who he is, but i can feel him. The currents will

take me to him. First of course I will aquire a sword and what ever else I may need to walk this

land." With that she turned from the two men and walked through one of her illusion's walls

causing the whole illusion to disappear. She called out as her long legs took her to the temple

entrance, "I will return eventually... Until then don't wait up for me," and then she was gone into

the black night.


	8. Smith of the Tainted

The tainted violet fae that slithered out of Jaggonath was so much like her own essence that she debated investigating before aquiring a weapon. Shaking her head against such rash thoughts she turned away from the taint and down a winding street to a blacksmith who's reputation called to her through the currents. Phoenix paused in the doorway, her cloaked figure blocking the light. The blacksmith looked up a bit startled but came forward one hand carrying his mallet and the other trying to wipe some of the dust off his front, "Hello there. My name is Jace and I run this smithy. What can i do you for?" As she stepped farther into the room her fae augmented gaze fell upon the examples of his work. She reached out a hand and gently ran a finger down the blade of a small yet very ornate dagger.  
  
Her endless emerald eyes swept to his as she spoke, "I want you to make me a sword." In one swift motion she brought her hand from her side and held it before his face, in her grasp was a folded sheet of paper, "Here are all the design points you need to complete it. I want it done in 3 days and I will accept no excuses. Have it complete by midnight or I will be most displeased." then she tossed the paper on a nearby table as she headed out the door. Jace watched her walk out his door before turning his attention to the drawing she had left, after just a few seconds of examining it he yelled, "She wants this done is 3 days!"  
  
A dark smile graced her lips as she softly chuckled at his yell. She knew then that her sword would be exactly as she'd ordered, and Jace would be well rewarded. She had previously rented a inn's room that gave her access to the building's roof, when she got about a block away she lept into the air and pounced from roof to roof unitl she had made it to herown. She settled herself back against the wall and simply watched the tainted fae of the one she was to seek out in 3 days time. 


	9. Hunting Fae

Wiping his brow with a sigh, Jace dropped down onto his stool and looked at the

magnificant sword on the table before him. With a grin he thought out loud, "She should like it.

Its exactly to her specifications." "Well done.", Jace jumped at her voice, "My lady! I have

finished it on time just as you asked." Stepping through the door she came to the table and

looked down at her sword. Reaching down she wrapped her hand around the hilt, stepped back

from the table and gave it a swing. With a smile she laid the blade back on the table, "I trust you

have completed the scabbard as well?" Nodding quickly Jace slid off his stool and headed to the

back of the room, when he returned he was carrying an ornate sheath, the length of it delicately

etched with wards. Taking it gently from him she slid the blade into its place and hooked it on

her belt. "I thank you. This craftsmanship is exactly what I expected from your reputation.",

dropping a bag of gold on the table she turned and walked out into the night leaving the tired

Jace to count his earnings.  
  
Now that she was armed she focused her sight on the dark trail she had been watching.

Long strides carried her quickly towards a quiet section of town, where she halted before a

modest building bearing the sign, Hunt Shoppe. At the door she paused, noticing a clerk behind

the counter. Drawing a breath, she pushes open the door and moves inside. The clerk turned

and flashed her smile, "Welcome to the Hunt Shoppe. How can I help you?" Casting a glance at

the doorway in on of the side walls she headed towards the counter, lowering her hood as she

moved. Phoenix focused her piercing gaze on the young clerk who shrunk back slightly at the

intensity in her eyes, "You might be able to... I'm looking for someone, I don't know who he is

but I can see him in the fae and the taint starts here." The clerk backed up away from her and

the counter, "I don't know what you are talking about!" Just after he spoke, the door she looked

at before opened and in it stood a tall man with dark hair and dark grey eyes that narrowed

seeing his clerks reaction to the woman. Phoenix turned and focused her own deep emerald

eyes upon him and waited for him to speak. When he did his tone was a mixture of confusion

and amusement, "What have you done to scare my help so badly miss? A dark smile played

across her lips, this man was the one she sought. The tainted fae swirled around him, leaving no

room for question, "I simply asked him where I could find someone and it turns out the one I've

been looking for is you."


	10. We All Have Secrets

The man sent a knowing at her as she responded only to have it slide off her like water down

glass. A smile tugged at his lips as he watched her, "Now, how would you know that the one

you seek is me?" Phoenix stepped forward a bit closing a little of the distance between them,

"Because I can see the tainted fae that i followed here, swirling about you." He was slightly taken

aback by her words, but recovered and gestured to the door behind him, "Perhaps we had best

speak in private." He then turned and headed down the hall with Phoenix following, a smug smile

in her eyes. They walked down a twisted hallway and past several doors before he stopped at

one and held it open gesturing for her to enter. The room was small with a desk, chairs, and a

single painting of an attractive man. Her eyes swept over the portrait quickly before she lowered

herself into a chair and watched him cross to the seat on the other side of the desk. He crossed

his hands and laid them on his desk watching her, the longer he sat the harder it was for Phoenix

to hide the smile begining to crept into her lips. Seeing her lips twitch he sighed, "Alright miss,

you win. My name is Riven Forrest and i am the owner of this shop. You say you were

searching for me and used the fae to do so. That is no longer possible though. The Patriarch's

sacrifice saw to that..." She truely smiled then, "A pleasure Mer Forrest. I did use the fae to find

you because only humans are limited by the sacrifice. The name the Mother gave me is Phoenix

but if you desire a surname the closest thing to that I can give you is Tarrant." Riven lept

backwards out of his chair and stared at her in wide eyed shock as Phoenix stood, "I know who

you are and I know what you did therefore i will not name you." Pushing her chair off to the side

she rounded the desk so that she stood before him, "I am not the only one who figured it out but

you know that as well. I just wanted to see you for myself and let you know that the Hunter's

ablilites live on." Riven swallowed hard, "How can this be?" "I am an izeu born from the Hunter's

humanity," with that she turned and headed to the door, "Are you going to walk me out?"

Forrest shook himself mentally and moved to walk by her side. After a few steps he looked at

her and could see that what she said had to be true, too many things about her fit for it to be

false. When they were outside the shop she turned to him and bowed, "It was a pleasure to meet

you Riven Forrest, I hope this will not be our last encounter." Taking her hand in his he lifted it to

his lips, "As do I Phoenix."


End file.
